Bank guard



gww im Dec. 23, 1924.

A. L. FRENCH BANK GUARD Filed W1 4 1924- 2 Sheets$hut 1 gwoento'v Zr 600% iii.

A. L. FRENCH BANK GUARD Filed April 4. 1924 2 ShQOtS-Shl'i 2 gwuentoz flL [aw/fer? Patented Dec. 23, 1924.

F F I C E ABRAHAM L. FRENCH, OF COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

BANK GUARD.

Application filed April 4,

To all whom it 72mg concern.

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM L. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Colorado Springs, in the county of El Paso and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Bank Guard, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to guards especially adapted to be used for protecting banks and the cash handlers thereof, and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a guard of simple structure including a series of pivotally mounted shutter panels disposed vertically to form a grating, the said shutters being provided with springs adapted to individually close them when they are released from a securing device by which they are held at open position.

The parts are so arranged that all ofthe shutters, when released, may swing simultaneously to closed position, or in the event that one of the shutters is held at an open position by a person who is attempting to hold up the bank, the other shutters of the series will close, thereby protecting the teller and those who are behind the counter. Electric means are provided for releasing the shutters from the locking devices and the said means may be connected in open circuit with a switch or switches located at convenient points within the bank and accessible to the employees thereof. There may be such a switch in the vicinity of the tellers window and there may be other switches located at other places in the bank structure.

Manually operable means are provided for swinging the shutter panels from closed to open position. When the panels are open they form a grating as stated and when they are closed they form acurtain or partition at the counter or other support upon which they are mounted.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is an under plan view showing the arrangement of the parts of the device which are located below the counter,

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the same,

Figure 3 is a. fragmentary under plan view of the counter showing the relative positions of the parts when the shutters are released,

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the guard 1924. Serial No. 704,194.

showing the shutter panels at open position and arranged as a grating.

The guard includes a counter 1 having a sill 2 with shutter panels 3 spaced from each other and vertically disposed and pivoted thereon. The lower pivots of the shutters 3 pass transversely through the sill 2 and carry at their lower end portions wheels 4. Each wheel 4 is provided with a radially disposed arm 5, and is also provided at its periphery with a set of gear teeth 6. The set of teeth 6 does not completely surround the periphery of the wheel. Pins 7 and 8 are secured to the under side of the counter 2 and are disposed transversely across the path of movement of the arms 5. The said pins are spaced from each other so that the wheel may make a quarter-turn. Springs 9 are secured at one end to the counter 2, and at their other end to the wheels 4. The intermediate portions of the springs 9 are coiled around the lower pivots of the shut ters 3 as best shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. The springs 9 are under tension with a tendency to hold the arms 5 toward the pins 7 and the shutters are so disposed upon the wheels 4 that when the arms 5 are in engagement with the pins 7, the shutters are closed, edge to edge along the top of the sills 2 of the counter. When the arms 5 are in engagement with the pins 8, the shutter panels 8 are at open position: as shown in Figure 4 and forming a grating for the counter.

A shaft 10 is journaled under the sill 2 and is operatively connected, in an appropriate manner, with a motor 11 located under the counter and preferably mounted upon the floor of the building. The motor 11 is connected by a normally open circuit 12 with a battery or generator 13. The circuit 12 includes a switch 14 which may be closed for completing the circuit from the generator to the motor. One or more switches 14 may be provided and they may be located at any convenient point or points.

A shaft 15 is movably mounted under the sill 2 and is provided at intervals with worms 16 which normally mesh with the teeth 6 of the wheels 4 as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. Collars 17 are loosely mounted upon the shaft 5 and eccentrics 18 are mounted upon the shaft 10 opposite the said collars. Eccentric bands 19 surround the eccentrics 18 and are connected with the collars 17 by means of bars 20. A beveled pinion 21 is mounted upon the intermediate portion of the shaft 15 and meshes with a similar pinion 22 mounted upon a shaft 23 which is disposed transversely under the sill 2. One end portion of the shaft 23 is journaled in the yoke 241: which is loosely mounted upon the shaft 15 and the opposite end of the shaft 23 projects beyond the inner edge of the sill 2 and carries a turning wheel 23. 1

As hereinbefore stated the shutter panels are normally held in an open position in the form of a grating as shown in Figure 4L of the drawings. lVhen the switch 4 is closed the motor 11 is energized and the shaft 10 is rotated whereby the eccentrics 18 are rotated about the axis of the shaft 10 and the bars 20 are moved longitudinally so that the shaft 15 is moved away from the wheels at and worms 16 which are carried by the shaft 15 are moved to spaced position with relation to the teeth 6 of the said wheels as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. As soon as this occurs the ten sion of the springs 19 come into play and the wheels 4 are turned whereby the arms 5 are moved from the pins 8 to the pins 7 and the shutters 3 are turned from open position to closed position above the sill of the counter. This is done when it is evident or ap parent that the counter is being approached by an intruder. In the event that one or more of the shutters should be held at an open position by the intruder, the remaining unobstructed shutters will swing to the closed position and will serve as a shield or barrier and as means for protecting those behind the counter. Thus should the intruder hold one or more of the shutters at an open position by projecting a weapon between them, the range of action of the weapon is limited by the shutters so that the persons behind the counter may dodge behind the closed shutters.

To resetthe guards the switch 142 is opened and the eccentrics 18 are turned so that their deep portions are disposed at the opposite sides of the shaft 10 from that side thereof at which the shaft 15 is located. This brings the worms 16 in mesh with the teeth 6 of the wheels 4 and the operator may use the wheels 24 and rotate the shaft 23 whereby the intermeshing pinions 22 and 21 will rotate the shaft 15 and the wheels a are turned against the tension of the springs 9 so that the arms 5 are moved from the pins 7 to the pins 8 as shown in Figure 1, and the shutter panels 3 are turned from closed to open position.

It will be noted that the within described invention provides a guard apparatus which is capable of extensive use, and is at the same time inexpensive, simple in construction, economic to operate and easy toregu late. The guard is capable of a wide variety of uses around places and establishments where cash is handled and which is frequently in sight.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above described construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and in a limited sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is A guard comprising a support, panels pivoted thereon, wheels mounted upon the pivots of the panels and having radially disposed and provided at their peripheries with sets of gear teeth, pins mounted upon the support and disposed transversely across the path of movement of the arms, springs connected at one end with the support and at their other ends with the wheels and serving to hold the arms of the wheels normally against certain of the pins, a shaft journaled and movably mounted under the support, worms carried by the shaft and adapted to engage the teeth of the wheels, manually operable means for rotating said shaft, a second shaft located under the sup port, electrically operated means operatively connected with the last mentioned shafts, eccentrics carried by the last mentioned shaft and means operatively connecting the said eccentrics with the first mentioned shaft.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

- ABRAHAM L. FRENCH. 

